Group Only I've fallen and I can't get up

Speech Emotional Actions Thoughts

The thunder of waterfalls never stopped, vibrating through the earth beneath Lorelei’s paws as she wandered along one of the narrower trails awayfrom her family’s den. Fog clung thickly to the ground tonight, weaving around her legs as dusk settled over Cerulean Falls in muted blues and silvers.

Most wolves stayed near the safer paths.

Lorelei didn’t.

She climbed over slick rocks with careless confidence, pale green eyes wandering curiously over every hidden crevice and strange patch of earth she could find. Her stocky frame moved steadily despite the uneven terrain, tail flicking behind her as she sniffed at the damp air.

The falls smelled alive tonight — riverwater, wet stone, fresh fish.

And beneath it all, her familiar scent of sugar and cold glacier melt lingered warmly against her coat.

The young wolf shoved through a curtain of reeds at the edge of one shallow stream, squinting suspiciously at the fog ahead of her.

There’s gotta be somethin’ hidden out here, she mumbled under her breath

One more step.

Then the earth vanished beneath her.

Lorelei let out a sharp bark of surprise as the muddy ground collapsed inward, sending her tumbling into darkness alongside loose dirt and stones. She hit the bottom hard with a splash of shallow water and a very offended grunt.

The roar of the waterfalls muffled everything overhead.

For several seconds, she just sat there.

Dripping wet.

Covered in mud.

Confused beyond belief.

…Excuse me?

Her voice echoed faintly off the stone walls surrounding her. Pale green eyes blinked upward at the jagged opening far above her head where fog drifted lazily past as if nothing had happened.

Lorelei slowly stood, shaking water violently from her fur.

What kind of place just has random holes? she demanded at nobody in particular. That feels unsafe.

She narrowed her eyes at the wall beside her like it had personally insulted her family.

A small stream trickled through the bottom of the pit, likely carved out from years of underground runoff from the falls above. Moss coated the stones slickly, glowing green in the dim light filtering down from above.

Lorelei stared, then shrieked like a banshee

MOMMMM

Would Apple even hear her over the thundering falls?

Like Mutter like daughter.

Apple preferred the kids home by nightfall, but it wasn't the hardest rule in the world. She'd... been too shitty for too long, she thought; only letting the kids be touchy long enough to settle in for sleep or nurse (and thank god they didn't do that anymore), not playing with them, following along all useless like whenever they explored. It wasn't fair to them, no way to grow up.
She wondered how she hadn't really noticed, until Sparrow told her Persimmon wasn't coming straight home; that some stranger was apparently so smitten with the Dusk boy that neither of them wanted to be separated, that he would rather heal there instead of his entirely capable Mutter's paws! So Persi knew she was a healer. That didn't mean this woman hadn't clearly made him feel safer than Apple ever had. Had been more fun, perhaps.

Instead of calling the whelps in with some vague summoning howl, she went searching for the ones that were missing as the night began to close in. Lorelei and Pomegranate; the blind and the tripod. Yeah, no worries there. Didn't they listen when she told them there was a reason she called them in at night? Did they think their first few lessons made them invincible?

Apple warred with a vague sense of irritation as she trotted along after the scent trail of her daughter. One at a time, she told herself! The air brought her smells of both of them, so perhaps they were both close -- had met up, even. Something.
Apple was tired after taking her little legs on patrol!

The quiet evening was shattered as a single wild scream went up for Mom.

Apple's heart surged up into her throat and as her paws powered her into a reckless gallop, it crashed right down into her gut. In all her wild life, she wasn't sure she'd ever been so terrified.

Not for herself.

For her children.

For her daughter.

Apple whined, breaths already beginning to wheeze.... when a second scream for her went up.

The Queen's howl screeched unceremoniously back, louder, panicked; both assurance to her children and a summons to anyone else nearby. Whatever made her babies scared would feel the wrath of the Oasis upon them if one strand of fur was out of place on their pelts, so help her -

Pompoms red-and-gold coat stood out in the last dying rays of sunlight, and the tripod was looking... down?

Apple didn't notice that tears had sprang into her teal gaze, and she shrieked another desperate sound as she closed the distance like a tiny freight train. She only skidded to a halt just in time to avoid tumbling into the hole after Lorelei, which was probably only thanks to the fact that Pomegranate was right there indicating it was a drop.

Wheezing, struggling for breath, poised and ready to dive Apple thrust her head over the gap and sent a seething gaze down at....

Nothing.

Just a dappled girl of autumnal coloring, her cloudy eyes searching for her Mutter.

Apple dissolved into soft sobs, shoulders slumping.

Y-you're okay, she said, relief dripping from her like the tears, sounding more like she'd finally convinced herself than anything. She used a gentle muzzle to encourage Pomegranate further from the edge, and then hopped down over her daughter to join Pit Time.

She didn't have to.

She wanted to hover over the youngling and sniffle into her coat, searching for wounds or anything out of place.

D-did y-dou hu-hurt you-yourself? The pants came so hard between gentle sniffles that it was hard to speak.

A child? A Daughter? A Monster.
2-0-2 OC

Speech Emotional Actions Thoughts

Lorelei nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of paws rushing toward the hole. For one brief, horrible moment, she thought the pit itself had decided to come back for round two.

Then Pomegranate’s voice drifted down toward her.

Lore?

Relief flooded through her so quickly it almost made her dizzy.

Pom! she barked back, muddy paws splashing lightly in the shallow water below. I fell into a murder hole!

She peered upward just enough to catch the silhouette of him leaning carefully over the edge. Her ears twitched at his hesitant words.

I don't think I can help you out of this one...

Well not with that attitude—

She didn’t even get to finish before he suddenly screamed.

MUTTER!

Lorelei physically recoiled, flattening herself against the wall with a startled squeak.

Stars above! she yelped. Why are you so LOUD?!

The pit swallowed the sound and threw it back twice as strong.

But then came the answering howl.

Apple’s voice tore through Cerulean Falls sharp with panic, and Lorelei’s expression immediately crumpled into guilt.

…Oh no.

She could hear her mother coming before she saw her — crashing recklessly through brush and stone with enough force to sound like an avalanche. Lorelei scrambled awkwardly backward as Apple suddenly appeared at the edge above them, looking absolutely terrified. Not that Lorelei could see it.

Mutter, wait, I’m okay—!

Another frantic cry cut her off.

And then Apple was crying.

Lorelei froze completely.

The young girl’s ears folded backward as her mother dropped down into the pit beside her without hesitation, immediately fussing over her with trembling breaths and hurried sniffs. Lorelei sat stiffly at first, wide-eyed beneath all the attention.

Not because she disliked it.

Because she wasn’t used to it.

I’m okay, she repeated quieter this time, almost sheepish now. I just stepped wrong and the dirt collapsed.

Apple kept checking her anyway.

Lorelei’s gaze dropped toward her muddy paws.

…Sorry, she mumbled after a moment, the apology soft and genuine. I didn’t mean to scare you that bad.

She shifted awkwardly before finally leaning just a tiny bit into her mother’s chest, careful and uncertain.

I was just exploring, she admitted. I thought there might be somethin’ hidden over there.

A pause.

Then, stubbornly:

…I still think the hole wanted to eat me..

Dimly, through the panic, Apple was aware of the fact that both kids were openly gaping at her and that someone else had rushed in to her aide. Of course Dante wasn't far -- he never was, not since he'd come to the Falls. It was what she appreciated most about him, the way he made her feel safe.
The way he protected her family.
Their family.

Yet for a moment, all she could do was make sure Lorelei was alright. She tried to say she was, sure, but after watching Persi get stepped on, shoved, tumble, and all other manner of clumsy bull-fuckery it was hard to trust the kids saying nothing was wrong.

Dante asked what was going on. I-Th-they yelled, she wheezed, I-I th-thought - I thought I lost them. I ju-just got sc-scared. Fuck, breathe, lung, work!

Something about the apology struck her in the chest, and she sniffled, trying to get herself together. The kids didn't deserve her this way anymore than they deserved her being distant.

N-no dear, its okay, she assured softly, listening as Lore said she'd been exploring. For something... hidden? She peeked up at Dante sheepishly, briefly. You did no-nothing wrong. You've... you've never done anything wrong. Any of you. That was just the issue, wasn't it? That was what made her such a bad Mutter.
She'd wanted to get rid of them.
She didn't deserve them.

She hiccupped a half-sob-half-laugh as Lore said the hole had wanted to eat her.

The h-hole didn't want to e-eat you, Lore- and then Pomegranate was biting the fucking dirt. These kids, man. Digging, frantic, biting and attacking like the edge of the hole had insulted him personally. Apple frowned at him, fretting further: Pom, you're going to tumble in next!